Ecuador's Lenin Moreno defeats banker in presidential election

With 99
percent of the official vote counted, Lenin defeated former banker
Guillermo Lasso, candidate for the right-wing CREO-SUMO alliance,
with 51.16 percent to 48.84 percent, according to results issued by
the country’s National Electoral Council on Monday morning.

In what many
had already predicted, right-wing vice presidential candidate Andres
Paez has called for a recount, even though the CNE said it was a
transparent and successful election process, calling for everyone to
respect the results.

Moreno is
set to continue and expand social programs introduced under outgoing
President Rafael Correa, for whom Lenin served as vice president from
2007 to 2013, before working as the U.N. special envoy for Disability
and Accessibility.

Moreno who
has been wheelchair bound after being shot and paralyzed in 1998, is
well known for his advocacy work for people with disabilities and
supporting public education. Jorge Glass, who also served in the
Correa administration will now serve as vice president. The new
administration will be officially inaugurated on May 24.

As Rafael
Correa departs after 10 years of consecutive rule and a number of
social gains made under the Citizens’ Revolution, the victory for
Moreno is seen as key not only for Ecuador but for the wider Latin
American region. Ecuador will remain a part of the pink tide that has
swept the region in the past two decades, not following the
right-wing shift that took place in 2016 in Argentina and Brazil.

“This is a
positive endorsement of our plan to create a more equal Ecuador,"
said Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Guillaume Long in response to the
results. "We have made great strides in social progress in the
past decade and we will now continue to do so for the next four
years."

After
decades of social and economic instability including the frequent
changing of presidents, Alianza Pais under Correa lifted more than 1
million people out of poverty, tripled tax income and expanded the
country’s universal health care and education system.

Sunday’s
election was the second round of voting after Moreno fell short by
less than 0.7 percent on Feb. 19 to win in the first round.

Close to
12.5 million Ecuadoreans in the country, along with almost 400,000
emigrants around the world, were eligible to vote in Sunday’s
election. Polling stations were set up in Miami, New York, London and
Madrid.

Moreno voted
in the north of Quito, accompanied by hundreds of his supporters.
Lasso voted with his family in his hometown in the port city of
Guayaquil. Correa also voted in the capital along with other
government ministers.

“It’s a
decisive moment for the region because of the extreme right-wing’s
reaction in the last years. Ecuadorean elections are very important,”
said Correa while voting.

Moreno’s
supporters who gathered from the early afternoon celebrated in the
central-north of Quito, outside the headquarters of Alianza Pais.

The election
was overseen by international observers including former Uruguayan
President Jose “Pepe” Mujica, working with the UNASUR electoral
mission. Mujica confirmed that the voting had been transparent.

Despite the
CNE and international observers announcing that there were no issues
with voting, similar to the first round of voting in February, rumors
of voting fraud were circulated on social media by the opposition.

Defeated
CREO vice presidential candidate, Andres Paez, had threatened earlier
to protest outside of the CNE offices over fraud claims, urging his
followers to come out into the streets.